This World Built On Tears
by Aiko Isari
Summary: The journey to adulthood is made up of dreams and realities, beginnings and ends. Lucky for these children, they have Pokemon by their side, and eventually, each other. Mirei, in her search for answers, doesn't realize how much she needs them. X/Y AU
1. An Early Air Current

_Warning for past character death, non-graphic violence, past harm to minors/child abuse (Minor edits made 06-22-16)_

* * *

 _"Ever since I was a little girl, I have always turned my eyes up to the sky. When I was so full of uncertainty that I felt my heart might be crushed by it... When I was so grief-stricken and alone I thought my heart might break of it... I turned and looked up there... so that my tears would never, ever fall. What about you? Have you ever had to do something like that?"_ \- Zinnia

 _ **Act One: Looking For a Lantern**_

 **Chapter One: An Early Air Current**

 _Clarity is the rain and mud, the path to sanctuary crooked and swamped. There is a thud-boom of thunder over her head and in the sounds behind her comes the sounds of dragon puzzlement and mud. They cry out and out and rapidash trip-whinnies._

 _Loud cracks, sob-pain and she flies, tumbles. All pain, all red. Drips from her nose. Mama red-rimmed, frozen-faced, cold-warm. Red light return, scoop up, run._

 _The fairies are absent in this swamp. The dragons lurk in the water to feed. Gloop. Bloop_

 _Mummy runs, runs towards bright blur light blur and blood-smell. She knows many words, lots of important things, but she doesn't know where she's going. Mummy always knows though. She's very smart._

 _Rapidash wails for his foal in the ball, she clutches the bag with her tight. Heart beats slowing._

 _'Mummy'_

 _Hoarse froakie croak voice. No words, muffled sobs mainly. Mummy hides everything she can even though she can't._

 _Then it comes again, from hours before, the rush howl, the monster that scales waterfalls and cannot be a dragon, it screams and screams._

 _This time, another answers._

 _Roselia petal smell, sweet smell, trying to lull her, trying to calm her. It fails, falling to the steady jab-peck on her hand hard enough for-_

Mirei opened her lilac eyes. A fletchling sat on her small, bronze wrist. It chirped a greeting, beak poised to peck again. She muttered a word of a decidedly inappropriate nature and turned her head on the soft pillow to see the outside. The sky was as steady of a dark blue as it tended to get in Miare* at night. Mirei turned to the bird and flicked it between the eyes, ignoring the sudden rush of _-sleepmutternightmarebadhelp-_ that came from the Pokemon at her simple touch.

" _Passerouge_ *," she said, scowling at her father's most recently picked-up stray. When not allowed to swear, use different languages. People were sometimes unaware enough to think you were doing the same thing. Once they were taught, well, their reactions were rather entertaining. "It's still _early_." It chirruped at her, failing to see the problem. She made another face and looked about her small apartment bedroom. The shadows made by the streetlights outside almost engulfed the two Pokemon curled on their gently sewn flaffy wool stuffed cushions. One had its amber eyes slit open, however, and was staring at the fletchling. It sat up as silently as possible, slinking forward and pausing in the darkest shadow of the room. Its legs bunched and she leaped, crashing on top of the bird and sending it squawking to the ground. The shinx hissed, planting a somewhat large paw over the tiny beak.

Mirei groaned. "Rue, don't kill it."

'Shirmwr," came the cat's reply. Mirei translated that as 'But Mo-om-' through a mouth of baby future fire bird feathers.

"Don't," she repeated, laying back down and pulling her covers over her head. "Someone is adopting them this week. Papa might make me stay behind if you actually eat it." She heard the thump and squawk of her shinx reluctantly dropping the bird and said fletchling bolting out of her bedroom window in a huff. She pitied whoever picked that one. Sassy tweeter. Something thumped next to her on the bed as Rue curled up at her side. Mirei peeked her hand through the blanket to stroke the blue part of the cub's fur.

 _-loveyoumomsadhappyalways-_

Rue's purring lulled her back to sleep and the old memory-dream was forgotten, for the moment.

* * *

Rekushin Pine held a completed Pokedex up to the sunlight streaming through the window, checking the casing. It wouldn't do to send his adoptive daughter out with an incomplete machine, nor would it do to leave any child without hope in the world. Adventuring with Pokemon was a rite of passage, whether to master the world with them or to simply become an adult. That was never an easy road.

He sighed and left the device in the sun to charge. It was his duty to make certain it would not be a mercilessly short one.

A friendly growl made him pause at the next device. He smiled. "Good morning Fafnir." The dragon dipped his head and growled low once more. "Is it that time already?" Fafnir nodded, the garchomp waving a claw. "Very well, I will be down to the meadow shortly. Tell Mirei not to rush."

"Gravn." His old partner strode away to do so, failing to look dignified in his rush to see who was arguably his niece. Or at least, that was how he seemed to feel about her. Rekushin chuckled to himself and went to the next pokedex.

Forty-five minutes later, he placed the last device in the sun and stood from his desk. He stretched toned, russet arms and readjusted the white lab coat sleeves over the red of his shirt. Rekushin pinched his nose and glanced about the laboratory. It was too quiet. Either he simply hadn't been paying attention, or the ragamuffins were behaving themselves.

He almost laughed out loud. That would never be the case. It was likely that they were all eating. Rekushin went to the elevator, a contraption he normally disliked. However, when you had a large lab and didn't want people _accidentally_ wandering into your pokemon preserve, you had to accept some of the new technology.

As the doors slid open, there was a pair of delighted squeals and one yelping chirp. "Good morning," he offered to the offending pokemon as they chased each other around the meadow. Mother and daughter lion yowled their greeting before returning to their hunt. The poor fletchling… He looked about. "Has my daughter come out of hiding yet?"

The little shinx paused in her run and shook her head. "Shirmrer."

Rekushin knelt and let the kit come over to be pet. "You know I cannot understand you, Rue. The gift is not hereditary."

"Rrwm," it murmured, starting to purr. Well, he did not have to understand her to get the gist.

There was another soft click of the elevator doors as they slipped open behind him. "Papa," murmured a muffled voice. "May I get past please? These are a bit heavy."

"Nyur!" The agreeing espurr cry made him chuckle and turn, taking the bag of Pokemon food little Vio had been floating under one arm and the pot with the other.

"You could have simply come and gotten me from upstairs, darling," he chided. Bronze cheeks turned even darker as Mirei huffed in embarrassment. He was proud that he could still cause that, and a part of him silently hoped that he always would be able to.

"I tried, but you weren't in your office." She carried the remainder of the breakfast bowls down to the dip in the grass that led to the manmade pool, her purple hair flopping messily back into her face. She set the stack down and spread them out. Setting the food bag down, Rekushin tipped it over and followed her about. The cats spread the picnic blanket with long practiced tugs. Rekushin took his time, memorizing each brush of wind from cracked open windows, the sound of the little girl's delighted giggles from affectionate noses and sandpapery tongues. Pokemon were slowly coming out of the brush, the tops of trees, even poking their heads from the water.

Vio mewed at the bowls and they floated within reach until she plopped down next to her own. The pair of shinx joined her, Mirei's purple eyes were on the other pokemon as they approached. She didn't have to, she knew, this was her day, and therefore it was not going to be her responsibility to watch over the little ones and the old and in between to make sure they were healthy any more. Old habits died hard.

Her father was already seated, dealing their own meal. Eventually, she turned and joined him. Trepidation shook her fingers. It had been years since she had confused salt and sugar and over mixed the broth, but Mirei couldn't let go of her nerves. These were her own survival skills at stake after all.

Rekushin smiled after a few moments. "Ninety points."

Mirei exhaled in relief. For her family, that was practically perfection. She murmured to the food and began as well, listening to the friendly chatter of the creatures around her.

After she swallowed a few bites, her father spoke. "You're going into this with a lot of advantages." His voice, already deep and rich, seemed even lower with the seriousness of his tone. Mirei looked up and nodded silently. She had the advantage of growing up scientifically and emotionally with Pokemon all of her life. Her pokedex had many entries just from living here. She had experience working out a training style and in how to care for Pokemon. She knew the intricacies of the rules of the League and the Royalty Conferences. And those were only a few things, things that depended on where a person was raised. She fiddled with her purple locks as he continued. "You might be resented, envied, mocked. It might go to your head." Mirei winced at each word. Her father swallowed a gulp of tea. "It is up to you if the words they say hold any water."

Mirei nodded again. The reputations of her parents, adopted or otherwise, would put a foot in a lot of doors. If she wanted anything more from that, it was up to her. And, as they had both told her many, many times, she was not them. She had her own things to do.

Of course, easier said than done. He wouldn't be saying that otherwise.

"That said," Her father reached over and mussed her formerly brushed hair, making her pout again. "You have done plenty of preparations on your own with your studies and practice, in your rooms, and have managed to care well for the Pokemon here. You are no less prepared for what may come than a trainer with all of the money in the world backing them." He pulled her into the closest thing to a hug he had ever managed to give. "Come what may, we are both proud of you, Mirei."

The pout melted into a flush and her burying her face in his labcoat. Rekushin chuckled and let her for a few moments more. Then he poked her in the side.

"Eat before it gets cold," he told her. "You have preparations to make before nightfall."

She nodded, but still didn't move for a few more minutes. He, of course, let her stay. Today was a special occasion.

* * *

Seven minutes into her daily routine, Rindou Akiho remembered what day it was.

 _I get to leave. Finally!_

She promptly dove back under her covers and passed out, conserve some energy and all of that. Her pink hair stuck out from under her fluffy white comforter. She needed all of the sleep she could get. So, quite easily, she slept for another three hours. So late, in fact, that a very part of her tasks of the day slipped right on by. In fact they were in her house, climbing up the stairs and slipping into her room. Despite the weight of their boots and the small giggles escaping their mouth every few steps, they managed to open and shut the door to the girl's quarters with barely any sounds whatsoever.

Akiho snuffled, turning over as the other leaned down. They pressed their lips to her cheek, causing her pink eyes to snap open and her to leap back against the wall. Her heart thumping, eyes wide, she narrowed them and moved to sink into a delayed fighting position. Then she relaxed, shoulders no longer hunched. She let out a heavy, weary sigh.

"Rina, I was _asleep."_

Shinomiya Rina grinned at her. "No way," she drawled, tugging on her hood and brushing her jagged green locks out of her eyes. "Totally couldn't tell by the drool."

"Oh shut up." Akiho threw her pillow. Then she paused, frowning ever so slightly. "I missed getting you from the bus stop, didn't I?"

Before she could groan, Rina interrupted her by flopping onto her fluffy bed. "The flight to Miare -Lumiose-," she corrected absently. "Was really delayed. Something about Neo-Geode or whatever doing protests trying to spill onto the runways." At Akiho's wide eyes, she shrugged. "Yeah. It's been pretty bad since that meteor got blown up. The newest fad is 'air and space pollution'!" She made air quotes with her fingers." Rina grinned. "You should see my PokeNav inbox."

Akiho raised an eyebrow. "Do you send _all_ of it to Wallace?"

Rina cackled. "Reverse no. Only the non-scientific stuff." She shrugged, especially chilled out. "I asked for uncle to take me. He's gone on ahead to Miare though. Something about wanting to talk to Mr. Pine. Or get Marsy a Litleo, Shishiko, whatever it's called. I hope it's a girl. He needs to think he's an-"

" _Rina."_ Akiho coughed and Rina clapped her mouth shut, scratching her head with embarrassment. "I _get_ it. You're nervous. Same here." She smiled and crawled over, leaning against her arm. "Seriously, we're going to get into so much trouble."

"Sounds fun," Rina managed, grinning a bit once more. "By the way, nice to finally see you in person again, I guess. What's it been now… three years?"

"Four if you could the time our parents reluctantly put us in the same house for a conference." Akiho sighed and crawled off of the bed. "Shut your eyes," she ordered.

"Yes, ma'am." Rina didn't, but she did look away towards the poke balls on the shelf. Akiho guessed that was the best she could get. "Did you ever accept the riolu?"

Akiho snorted so hard that she almost sneezed. "Course not. You think grandpa would let me go if I did?" She rifled through her closet. "Did you bring any other clothes, it's summer and we wouldn't want your parents freaking out because you melted."

Rina raised an eyebrow, probably over the change in topic. "Yeah, I did. My sweater's not that hot, Aki. If it gets warmer, I can just take it off anyw-"

A pokeball burst open from Rina's belt, letting out a puff of smoke as a little orange and yellow bird popped out on the floor. It set to pecking Rina on the leg, who pulled her limbs out of reach with a pout.

"Ririkooo!" she whined, causing Akiho to giggle through the fabric of her white dress.

"Ririko?" she managed, once she could see the little torchic for herself. It waved a tiny, downy yellow wing at her and went back to chasing after the visible legs. Thankfully, it was too young to do much of a jump, even on her bed yet, or she might have soot for sheets.

"Yeah!" Rina adjusted herself to lean down and lift the chick into her lap, hugging her close. It let out a chirp of immersion, but did not try to squirm away. "They said I should at least have _some_ pokemon to remember Hoenn by."

Akiho pulled her socks over her leg weights. "By that, you should have a Johto-native partner."

"That's what I sad!" Rina huffed, only to grin. "Steven said he wants to get you something for helping him find a Key Stone, by the way."

Akiho turned bright red. "Well, th-they're not Kalos exclusive… it's not like they don't exist elsewhere..." She hurried to busy herself with her shoulder bag. "Seriously, he-he doesn't have to get me anything..."

"Except his undying affection," Rina mused in a serious voice.

Akiho punched her in the arm. Rina laughed and threw her pillow at her. Akiho caught it with a slightly manic grin. "You do realize," she said slowly. "That this means war."

Ririko's chirp was enough of an answer. As the two of them (three if you counted Ririko's chirping encouragement) smacked each other with feather pillows, Akiho watched the pokeballs gleam in the sunlight.

Then Rina's pillow blocked her vision. Oh that was _it._ It was on now

* * *

Effigia*.

Perfection.

The middle-aged man examined the words on the screen for the seventh time that day and rubbed between his eyes. Project Effigia, words whispered in the underground of the scientific community, whispered in cohesion with another, one much more dangerous program. Or perhaps in a different way, he had not translated enough of these documents to be certain. Languages were not his forte, and university was a late time to learn them. Perhaps now would be a better time to ask his wife, before she left for her own duties.

Then she would be gone for months in Isshu and the progress might stagnate further. He didn't have _time_ for that. No one did.

… Hah. Now he sounded like a conspiracy theorist. It would be nice if he simply was.

He went back to typing, using the light of his lamp more than the one overhead to scribble with. Then there was a knock at the door. "Come in," he said, turning slightly in his chair.

His son poked his head in, blond hair barely brushed and pajamas half off. "Dad, Mom said breakfast's almost done. We're supposed to go to Taiga's, right?"

Ah yes, the party, the celebration of maturity. His son was leaving today. Yakov Petrov almost managed a smile.

"I'll be right out," he said, slowly rising from his chair. "Go finish getting dressed before your mother drags you into your clothes." Nikolai scowled slightly, knowing it was only half of a joke at best, and left the room. Yakov signaled his Alakazam from where she had been meditating, who took his place with an approving grunt. Hen. He wasn't _that_ old.

Even so, perhaps the translations could wait just a bit longer on his part. It wasn't like he had obtained the documents _legally_ as it was. But was it really illegal to steal from criminals. One had to wonder.

He made it outside, squeezing the shoulder of his wife. He narrowedly avoided tugging on her long strands of dark hair in the process. "Oh there you are," she teased. "I was beginning to think you had gone into hibernating."

"Hardly a concern." He kissed at the edge of her forehead, earning twin raised eyebrows of surprise. He couldn't imagine why. "We would lose a fridge."

"We would." Teresa's lips twisted with amusement and concern. He wished he knew how she could do that. She turned her head to the side to shout away from his ear. "Nikolai, you can organize your bag when we get to Aquacorde!"

"Quarellis*," Yakov corrected, the French rough on his voice.

Teresa snorted. "Quarellis, Meisui, Aquacorde, it would be easier if languages were taught in schools," she muttered, a flush to her olive cheeks.

"Also if education had some requirement," Yakov said dryly before he could stop himself. If anything could get his second wife up in arms over something, it was education. It would warm his heart, even if she could go on for hours.

Thankfully, Niko stopped that by clomping down the stairs and turning their head. Yakov chuckled, far from his roaring laughter like a bear's but close enough, at the side of the boy's bag being full to bursting.

"Son, don't pack your whole room."

Nikolai flushed, grip tightening on the groaning straps. "I-I'm just making sure not to forget anything!"

Teresa giggled and moved closer to help his poor back. "Well, I can make sure of that when we get to _Quarellis_ ," She winked, worming a grin to the boy's face. "But for now, we'll have your father carry the food containers."

Yakov almost did laugh at that, and instead raised an eyebrow. "Have you regulated me of all people to be a pack mule?"

Nikolai failed to control his snickering as Teresa's smile only widened. "Only if you look at it that way."

Yakov shook his head in false dismay and went to obey.

This was why he needed to hurry and translate, get the documents to the Association. Effigia, Vitium, whatever the project may be called or may entail, it only spelled sorrow for Kalos, for all of the regions even.

Most of all, however, those projects would lead to the loss of this. And that had almost happened once. It couldn't happen again.

* * *

 **Translations** (that were untranslated in fic):

Miare* - Lumiose (Japanese to English)

Passerouge* - Fletchling (French to English)

Effigia - ideal, idol, status, perfection (Latin to English)

 _ **A/N:** _ Hey! So this will be one of the last long running (over 100k) fics to be released by me for a while. The rest will be for smaller word counts or fully backlogged before posting. The couple of others will be released when I have the time or completed writing.

There will be a few sprinklings of other languages throughout, mostly to reflect where the character is from or what other languages they would speak in the Pokemon world. There will also be deviations from XY plot as well as elements of both Digimon and Pokemon games, among other things. As of this moment, the first three arcs are basically fully outlined. So, until then! Please read and review and tell me what you think. Thanks!

Challenges: Diversity Writing Challenge (Anime/Manga) L5. Write a story with arcs of at least 25k each, Advent 2016 (Anime/Manga) Day 24, write a crossover, Crossover Boot Camp - gifted, Valentine's Advent 2016 day 21, pick a random AU from the list and write it (fusion! AU)


	2. Following the Path of the Sun

" _As of the Giovanni Incident of 1999, continuing from the aftereffects of the Tohjo Conflict between Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, and Orre, the League Association is requesting many amendments to streamline of Pokemon Training and ease the burden on young trainers and their families. Such regulations, if successful here, will be sent to other regional leagues if applicable. Motions will be brought to the floor in order following discussion of 'The Yellow Project'."_ \- Opening to Proposal XIX of April 2001 to the Kanto League Elite Four and League Association, following the disappearance of Red in November of 2000

 **Chapter Two: Following the Path of the Sun**

Ten in the morning was a reasonable time to wake someone up, wasn't it? Especially on the day where they began their journey as a Pokemon master, right? So a little purple-haired girl shouldn't feel bad about divebombing her brother's lump on his bed, right?

Taiga, judging by the twisted frown on his face, felt the opposite. He groaned and rubbed the back of his head. "That hurrtt… Yuki~" He barely managed to whine through the pain of his stomach. He didn't remember his littlest sister being quite that bony. "You could have just let the alarm do it like everyone else," he grumbled.

The girl giggled, which caused his eyes to snap open. The currently littlest sibling did not laugh like that, hers was still too stuck in toddler like to sound even close to that. His brother's voice wasn't _that_ high (he didn't have the heart to tell him he was still squeaking like every other ten-year-old.). So that left one culprit.

Taiga yanked said culprit into his chest and rubbed his knuckles through her hat and into her hair. "Sayo!" He couldn't be mad, he hadn't seen her in six months. "You're supposed to be at work!" He held her tight until she started playfully beating her chocolate-brown fists against his stomach. He pulled away, fingers closing over his stomach in mock agony. "First you knock me out of bed, then you beat me up," he cried. "I feel the love, Sayo."

She stuck out her tongue at him. "That is the love for a lazy person," she informed him, purple eyes alight with amusement. "You should see what I do to Akira."

"Rather not." Taiga grumbled, frowning at the mention of his one of his sister's many rivals and coworkers. She pouted at him, getting up to shove his clothes into his chest. He grunted. His _bag_ was in there, already packed by his family of course. You'd think he hadn't been prepared for this. He'd waited an extra _three_ years after all.

"Why are you fine with my other friends and not him?"

Taiga raised his hands in defense. "Hey, I don't like Koh and his sister either. They tried to kill you."

"Akira didn't try to kill me," Sayo pointed out as she turned to let him dress. Taiga huffed and mussed up her hair as he pulled up his khakis. She was missing the point. "Anyway, mum's said to hurry down. We're meeting your friend in Aquacorde, remember?"

Taiga swore, setting off a new peal of laughter. He _had_ forgotten. "And Niko's probably packed his back six times and been up since dawn, _damn it_."

"Probably," Sayo agreed. "Sounds like what you've told me of him."

He regarded her thoughtfully from the corner of his eye and then patted her hair back to normal. "He's a good guy, Sayo. He'll probably like you."

"When he gets past the fanboy stage," she corrected, stroking a black and yellow ultra ball with her thumb. "That does tend to slow it down."

Taiga agreed and gently pushed her to let him get by. She looped her arm in his, which made him give her a look. Then, he grinned and scooped her up under one arm. She squealed and he grinned.

"You may be the Unova Champion to be, little sis," he said with a grin. "But unless you grow a meter or so, I'm always going to be the big brother."

Sayo stopped squirming and gave up, shaking her head as he passed the open doors. She heard her father's low laughter and rolled her eyes. Imagine if the newspapers saw this.

Her amusement soured. Never mind, they already had. They wouldn't _be_ in Kalos if it wasn't for that.

Taiga tugged lightly on her ear as he set her down. She stuck out her tongue and raced away before he could do anything else. He snorted and went after her, only to trip and nearly crash into the wall, courtesy of the wagging tail of a Charmander.

" _Maru,"_ Taiga muttered, poking his starter on the snout as he tottered over. Maru beamed at him, oblivious. He earned a flick for his troubles, picking up the salamander dragon.

"You could have warned me where you were," he told him. Maru's tail wagged harder and Taiga had to swerve his head to the side to dodge a belch of flame. "Stop trying to burn off my eyes."

"Chuaarrrr."

Taiga sweatdropped. What was that even?

"Taiga, would you hurry up?! There's grass growing faster than you!" The sound of that voice from all the way downstairs made him snicker. Never change, Niko.

He adjusted his bag, making his way down. Despite his usually iron-clad self-control, excitement wriggled in his stomach. He had waited, hoping for the fans to die down, hoping for a normal, peaceful journey, not the wild insanity of his baby sister's unlucky television debut.

Making it down the stairs, he saw the familiar blue fists of a riolu punching and kicking in the general direction of his tiniest sibling. The girl watched eagerly, chubby fingers curled into her fists as she sought to mimic the tiny creature. At the sight of him, the pokemon stopped and bowed.

Taiga grinned. "Morning Sasha.'

Sashenka jumped up in down in dismay, whining. "Rorwi!" Obediently, Taiga apologized and scratched behind one floppy ear. Sasha subsided with a grunt, tail wagging as he hit just the right spot. "Where's Niko at?" he asked. Sashenka hopped to lead him there, probably for the sake of more scratches. Little Yuki pouted him as he made to pass, prompting Taiga to pick _her_ up instead. He loved doing this, especially since Yuki was just so small.

"Come on, we're gonna get food," he said, adjusting his grips so he was carrying her against his chest. She pouted, but that was all. She took this opportunity to snuggle into his neck instead.

"Imma miss you," he heard against his throat.

Taiga felt his eyes water and blinked them away. "I'll miss you too."

To be honest, he already did.

Outside, his father was sitting on the marble fence surrounding their house, as he often did when he was unceremoniously booted from the preparation area by both Taiga's birth mom and her best friend. She might as well be another mother, just as Draven might as well be his dad. He waved at his father, who hopped down from his perch.

"I see you're up," the man said with a grin. "Sayo has officially mastered the flying press, I assume?"

Taiga pretended to wince, still holding onto surprisingly pliant Yuki. "That's all your fault, dad," he said with a huff. "I was having a really good dream too!" Well, actually, his dream had been rather cold and miserable. Still, interrupting sleep should be a crime punishable by law! Tickle law, at least.

Draven chuckled. "Perhaps, but I had to teach her to protect herself somehow."

Taiga made a face. That was true. "If I could have gone with," he protested before he could stop himself, knowing the old argument and hating to have it.

"You would have been just as inexperienced as she was, only with a refusal to let her off of her leash and would constantly break the cameras." Before Taiga could even protest, let alone scowl, Draven smiled at him in that way that somehow managed to make any kid embarrassed. "This is _your_ journey now lad. Don't let the rest of the world make it hers all over again."

Taiga felt Yuki grip his shirt and hugged her more tightly to his chest. Maru cooed, attempting to snag her skirt. "Easier said than done."

After all, how many kids had a little sister who had broken every record before he had even gotten out of the door?

* * *

A normal trainer wouldn't start their journey in the evening. The stereotype was at sunrise, or at latest, high noon. Mirei, of course, was no ordinary trainer. Few people were outside at night. The pokemon behaved differently when it was dark. It was honestly rather exciting. But that wasn't why she was preparing to go out in the evening for her first day as a trainer on her own.

Tonight was a Flabebe Festival, and for once she was near enough and old enough to actually go there..

Route Four wasn't famous for it, as flabebe weren't uncommon and trainers camped so much, but the researcher circles spoke of it as highly as they did the 'secret bulbasaur evolution festival'. Sometimes it happened on Route Seven, but that was a high traffic route. So.

Mirei turned that thought over in her mind, packing again (for the last time! Honest!), and rifling through her clothes. She rolled up her pant legs and looked for her pokeball belt. Vio waved her white paws and floated it into her fingers from the half-open box underneath her bed. She scowled a bit. _Belts._ She hated needing one of these.

"Putting them on my bag is _asking_ for thieves though," she muttered to herself, reluctantly putting it on. She moved to get the box for the rest of her trainer's supplies, the box having shown up one month before. Mirei shook her head and laughed to herself. Her mother spared no expense when she maybe should have. She lifted the black bag from its tissue paper, Miare built by Citron himself, now that he was at university, focusing on his craft. Or was he on a journey? He had left the gym to a pair of friends anyway. She didn't remember why to be honest, but he'd always been very nice and had even left a glasses repair kit. And it wouldn't explode this time!

She looked to everything laid out on her bed and removed what looked like floppy disks (It was old fashioned in appearance only, for some reason.) from the inside of the bag. She pressed one with an overly drawn C (Courtesy of Eureka, she bet) onto the clothes and they shrank into light, zipping into the floppy with a small beep.

"Mrawr!" Rue, having been sitting on a pillow, dug her claws into the fabric at the activity, bristling.

Mirei scratched her partner's head, hearing the scattered scowl more than seeing it. "It's all right, Rue. This is based off Silph Company's trainer supplies. I don't think Citron will send me something that explosive for all of my supplies. Papa would probably kill him." Rue made another huffy mewl. "Not as fast as I would." Losing all your luggage in the middle of the wild? Bad. Very bad.

She brushed the object again and a tingling rush ran up her arm.

 _-begoodtakecare havefunyourfriendsmissyou callsometimes-_

Mirei rubbed her eyes to push the melancholy away and went back to the rest of the box. She wasn't sure whether to simply be grateful for all of it, or refuse and take some humility and disadvantages. Pragmatism won out. She wasn't in the mood to die because she wanted to _pretend_ she wasn't privileged.

There was an indent where a pokedex would be, because only her father could give her that, so instead she took out a lilac curved device that reminded her of a step counter. Her fingers clenched around it and Mirei very nearly dropped it to let it smash against the floor. Her hand shook as her thumb pressed the left button. A blue light left the port on the concave side, expanding into something resembling a screen. Letters and numbers flickered in and out until a few words settled themselves down.

"Happy birthday. I left you another gift."

Mirei did drop the device this time, on her bed. She shivered, barely even noticing Rue twining around her legs and purring. She did notice when Vio lifted the device into the air, towards the ceiling. Her eyes went wide at the sight of the too-bright blue glow.

"Vio, no!"

Vio frowned at her, starting to lower the Holo Caster without thinking. "Surrrrr?"

Mirei shook her head again. "No, no, don't. It..." _It won't make a difference, it will make things worse, we have to ignore it, please, please, please-_

Vio gently set the device down and Mirei's ears finally heard the frantic noises from Rue's mouth and mind. She hurried to scratch the shinx behind the ears, murmuring apologies. After a moment, she could breathe slowly again. With a great effort, Mirei picked up the device again and looped it around her bag. Hopefully, she would never have to use it,

She turned to the rest of the box, unpacking silently for a long while. She shrunk the egg case into her bag. At the sight of the small, black tablet, Mirei sighed. The updated trainer's handbook. She could probably recite the most important regulations in her sleep, especially the amendments. She looped the accompanying wire with its pokeball magnet around her neck and continued on.

The last item was a strange purple gem, roughly the size of a cleffa egg. Her fingertips brushed it and she shuddered, feeling the eons of water dripping and hollowing her hands, noibat and zubat cries, the noise of dying and birthing and blindness, humans stumbling uselessly in the dark, small friends so brief they may not have been there at all-

Tiny pricks on her wrist made her yelp and drop the rock back onto the bed. Rue made a frantic whining noise of dismay and Mirei grimaced, rubbing at the bite. Looked like it would be gloves for that one too.

Maybe she could make it to Sekitai and let them have a look…

 _The loom of the great stones, the power of the graves meters from her fingertips. All she had to do was gather it all and then it would all be over-_

Five hours until sundown. Three hours until the glow of the Hyakkoku Sundial washed unnoticed over the world.

She had to be ready for that first.

Mirei swallowed a painful sound, and set to work.

Mama's grave was waiting.

* * *

The sandbag slammed against the wall and swung back with a loud _thud._ Akiho reared back and swung again, bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet. Thud. She kicked. Beside her, a pokemon with horns like jaws flexing atop its head tried to mimic her. Her arms were too short, however, so the mawile settled for hitting the air as hard as she could.

On her other side, Rina was kicking and moving about. Akiho was tempted to try and trip her, but it would fail, more likely than not. For someone as unrepentantly bouncy as Shinomiya Rina, falling without wanting to was an insult at best. Beside her, Ririko was also kicking, flapping her stubby wings as she did to try punching.

For a while, there was only the sound of loud exhales and flesh brushing against fabric. Then a ringing sounded over their heads and Akiho slowly moved to stretch. Rina joined her, though her whole body vibrated with the near necessity to jump about the room, stretch on the bars overhead. Anything, really.

"Akiho?"

"Mm?" Akiho shifted on her feet, bending forward with her hands on the ground. She didn't wince anymore.

"I heard the Unova Champion's here."

"In the city?" She would have heard that this morning when she had been rushing to do her run.

Rina shook her head. "No, all the way in that Vaniville place. Her family lives there."

"Oh you mean the _future_ Unova Champion." Akiho rolled her shoulders as she spoke, getting up to change. "Isn't she like, ten?"

"Yep, or something. Steven's met her." Rina grinned and waggled her eyebrows. Akiho flushed, looking away as she continued. "I saw her once. She's tiny. Like, she makes your little sister look tall."

Akiho rolled her eyes. "We were just as short at ten."

Rina laughed. "True!" Pause. "Well, you were."

 _Smack._

Rina pouted, then shook her head. "Anyway, yeah, she's taking her apprenticeship out here, preparing for when she can work under Alder and take it for real. Some friends of hers are doing it too. Friends, rivals… something like that." She shrugged. "Her brother's off like us though. Maybe we'll run into him."

"So long as you don't fan over it, we're fine." She pulled off her gloves with a relieved sigh.

Rina gave her a teasing shove. "That's you, Aki! I don't need to drool over fame and fortune!"

Wasn't that the truth?

Akiho closed her eyes and opened them. "Come on, let's go eat, so grandpa can give me the lesson of doom before the wilderness."

Rina cheered and Ririko bounced at her boots. Akiho shook her head fondly and pet her mawile on the top horn.

"C'mon Simon, let's go."

"Whiler." Stubby black fingers saluted her as she passed. As they walked, Akiho's heart clenched in her chest, dread growing around her feet. This was a real journey this time, not endless training nor collapsing all the time in caves.

So why wasn't she excited?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a warning sensation in her chest and the slowing of Rina's boots hitting the floor. She dropped slightly to roll to the side, dodging a gloved fist. "Grandpa!" she shouted, blocking the lucario's next strike. Rina slipped out of the way as the two of them began trading blows. Akiho didn't bother speaking, focusing on breathing and not falling flat on her behind. Only when she managed to land a good kick on the taller man's ribcage did it stop, letting her catch her breath.

Simon, however, could not. He was dancing around a tall, bipedal jacket, failing to sink her horns around his arms. Akiho made herself get up and try to help, catching the lucario's eye. Simon ducked and moved to bite, but a well placed rib kick sent him stumbling. Akiho scooped him up with ease, glowering at the Lucario for a moment.

"Can't I start my journey without bruises?" she complained over the sound of Rina's raucous laughter from the railing.

Her grandfather chuckled himself, brushing his brown hair back into place underneath his black beanie. He could barely be called a grandfather, being only in his forties, but he was, and proud of it. "Morning, Rina," he said with a lazy wave.

"Morning, Hiro-tan!" Rina waved back as she went to help Akiho brush off the dirt. "Is this your way of telling her she can't leave yet? Cause I'm already here and my spending money's _way_ too limited to spend on flights."

Hiro shook his head. "No, just one last surprise before her trials, you know. A parent's job."

Akiho snorted. "You did the same thing to dad _and_ mom, I know it."

Hiro reached over and mussed her hair. "As I said, it's a parent's job before the trial. It's time for you to prove yourself to your fellows, prove that I didn't take it easy on you, that no one did." He removed his hand and pulled out a pokeball for her to take. "So, prove it. Take him with you."

Akiho shook her head without realizing it. "Grandpa! I…!" She stopped herself and felt sick. She didn't _want_ the riolu. She never had. Why did he keep shoving him in her face? "I have Simon," she said instead. How could she say 'I don't want _this_ pokemon' and call herself a trainer of any kind?

Hiro nodded. "You do," he said. "But you are _my heir_." His voice turned too slow for her liking and her ears burned with indignation. "Why do we raise lucario?"

"Because aura is in all things," she recited before she could stop herself. "Because lucario, are attuned to aura, much as gardevoir and togekiss are to emotion. Because a _fighter_ is to attune themselves to all things in themselves."

Hiro tapped her hand with the ball and she took it. It shuddered smoothly around her fingers and she tried to calm down, to smile.

"Hi," she whispered, dread in her stomach. A soft wash of blue touched her hands, and Akiho relaxed without meaning to. Her eyes almost watered, but she stopped them.

"Go get breakfast," Hiro ordered in a too gentle voice. "I think your sister fell asleep in her stretches."

Akiho nodded. When he'd gone, Rina squeezed her arm. Simon nuzzled her neck and she smiled.

Tradition was suffocating.

Akiho straightened and she set Simon down. "All right," she said, forcing the tension from her limbs. "Let's get breakfast, so Ririko can meet the new guy."

She could do this. She had no choice.

* * *

"Monsieur Petrov."

Yakov glanced down, almost literally. Tsukino Sayo was only handfuls of centimeters away, sipping a drink of Pinap. She way she stood, loose with purple hair shaken about her head, caused her to look much older than her mere eleven years of age. Then again, if the rumors about her title were half as true as he suspected, perhaps that was only fitting.

"If you're looking for someone to improve your language for work, I'm afraid I won't be much use."

 _-Effigia-_

Alakazam's mind pulsed the word back and forth and back again to him. He shut it out, looking back up from his water to see Taiga and his son having a mock battle on the brick streets. Well as mocking as it could be with darting fists and flames everywhere.

"Oh no, my Common* is good enough for the time being. Thank you, though." She took another sip. "I thought you would back at work. GIGO* isn't fond of days off, I hear."

"You hear."

She laughed, and it was a lot like Teresa's laugh. "I'm not the Champion yet, you know. I am just an Elite apprentice, no more, no less."

Yakov smiled thinly. "I have heard some are certain of otherwise." Teresa knew enough horrid gossips to keep him aware of things he had never thought was important. "And regardless, you have a Champion's ear."

"When he remembers to listen." Her voice gave nothing away. He didn't know the small girl well enough to figure out if that was a habit or not. "The Elite listen well-enough. Why?" She smiled up at him, childlike for a moment. "Would you like to have a Champion's ear?"

Yakov thought of the papers, the storage devices, the hoarse voice of a woman as she shoved him into a closet.

"Perhaps," he allowed.

Sayo nodded, the smile still plastered there as she waved at her brother, cheering for his victory.

"I'll be following them to Santalune," she said, the English terminology smooth on her tongue. "Perhaps Alder won't be quite as receptive, we're still repairing the castle, after all, and he has White Forest to examine. The Grand Duchess might, so I will pass it to her. That said, I do have a question for you before I take a look."

Yakov felt his blood run cold as he thought he heard a soft buzzing sound, like electricity in an old lamp. But there were no lamps. All there was was the girl, and a strange, small, black stone resting in her hand. It almost seemed to glow.

"Do you think the threat is a danger to you and yours?"

Yakov swallowed quietly and pondered his words. Neither of them had changed position, but he could feel Esteena's eyes heavy on him. It was almost as though she were paying attention all the way from the food table, where other children were scattered about. He glanced back at her without moving.

"I do." He barely moved his mouth.

The buzzing faded. "I thought so." Sayo beamed at the final ember knocking Sashenka to his knees. "You would not be so tense if it wasn't. That is good news for me. It makes a better case."

She hurried away, yelling congratulations and compliments. Somewhere in there was friendly advice. Yakov released a breath he hadn't known he had been holding.

So that was the Heir to Ideals. It seemed as though most of the rumors were true.

He could only pray it wasn't all of them.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** _ So uh, I did it. And I didn't know this was going to be that great. good to know. I'm glad people are enjoying it so far. The edits are now up, so please don't hesitate to cut this to pieces. XD

 **Translation Notes:**

Citron and Eureka - Clemont and Bonnie

Sekitai - Geosenge

Hyakkoku - Alistar

*Like how Japanese/English are spoken in the series because that's what the actors speak, imagine there is a general language across the Pokemon World, and that's what she's referring to.

GIGO* - the main company running the Digimon World games in ReDigitize/Decode.


End file.
